How to check if your smartphone is compatible with Galileo?

At the end of 2019, there were 272 models of phones that can connect to Galileo. Among these 272 smartphones, there are 33 phone manufacturers, including devices from Apple, Samsung, Oppo, OnePlus, Blackberry, LG, Nokia, Xiaomi, Google, Honor, Huawei and Sony.

It is also possible to know if a smartphone is compatible according to the electronic components it carries. Thus, the generations of compatible processors developed by Qualcomm and Mediatek, as well as the parts assembled by Intel, Broadcom, Apple and Samsung are listed on the Galileo site.

If the question really interests you, know that there is an application that lets you know which satellites our smartphone is connected to, the signal strength, as well as the frequency or constellation used. The GPSTest application – free – is also recommended by the European Commission.

Your smartphone is already using Galileo

In reality, a smartphone will always choose the service that offers the most precise location. However, although its deployment is not yet completely complete, Galileo is the most precise positioning service at present. In other words, if your smartphone is compatible with European GPS, there is a good chance that it will use Galileo to locate you, without you even knowing it.

Samsung told us that from the moment a smartphone was purchased in Europe, it was equipped with a chip compatible with Galileo. If it is purchased in the United States, then it is compatible with American GPS.

But that doesn’t mean that your smartphone is limited to using European satellites. In the event of a loss of signal caused by interference or otherwise, particularly in an urban environment, the Galileo system will connect to other satellites, notably American, to locate you precisely. We are talking about interoperability of satellite positioning services.